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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

Electrical Circuits

Produced by Teachers TV, in this video two teachers show the experiments they find useful in teaching students about electrical circuits.

Dr Phil Scott, professor of science education at the University of Leeds, believes it is important to find out about what children know about an electric circuit before any effective teaching can take place. He outlines some basic misconceptions and sets children a challenge to test what they know. One of his favourites is 'the big circuit', an experiment using a simple battery and a bulb set up with much longer wires than usual.

Brian Crosby, head teacher at Manor School, uses the big circuit example and a simple rope experiment to show the continuous nature of electrical current.

Andrea Mapplebeck, professional development leader at the National STEM Learning Centre and Network, highlights the usefulness of the demonstrations and explains how students can work in groups to show their understanding of electrical circuits.

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